ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- Whether he knew it or not, Governor Eric Greitens put his trust in a convicted felon.

Before Greitens was Missouri's highest elected official, he was CEO of the non-profit The Mission Continues, writing books and appearing on popular TV shows.

So to separate his money-making endeavors from the non-profit, an entity was created called The Greitens Group, according to what the Group’s Managing Editor, Dave Whitman, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2011.

But according to court records obtained by News 4, hiring Whitman for the managing director job was a mistake.

Between 2011 and 2014, Whitman defrauded The Greitens Group of nearly $50,000.

In August 2017, a judge sentenced Whitman to prison for 15 months. He ordered Whitman to pay restitution. The checks, the judge said, should be sent to 100 Madison Avenue in Jefferson City: The Missouri Governor’s Mansion.

Six months later, Governor Greitens received an indictment of his own, for felony invasion of privacy. The Attorney General has launched an investigation into The Mission Continues. And the man who stole from Greitens still sits in a federal facility.

THE GREITENS GROUP

According to his LinkedIn profile, from 2010 until 2014, Whitman served as the Vice President and Managing Director of The Greitens Group, an entity owned by Eric Greitens, LLC.

The Greitens Group, Whitman wrote online, is a public speaking and motivational firm. The organization served a public relations function for Greitens himself, before his run for governor.

“It was Eric Greiten's corporation that he used to set up his speaking engagements and distribute his books,” said Assistant US Attorney Steve Muchnick, who prosecuted Whitman for embezzlement.

It’s unclear if Greitens himself hired Whitman or if he had close contact with him. News 4 made repeated attempts to contact representatives for the Governor Thursday, but have not yet heard back.

But according to court documents, Whitman was authorized to have access to the company’s credit cards, checks and payroll for The Greitens Group. He even had a stamp that had Eric Greitens’ name on it, so he could cut checks.

A CRIMINAL PAST

Whitman, though, was no stranger to the court system, according to prosecutors and court records.

In 2000, long before his employment with The Greitens Group, he was convicted and sentenced to probation on a mail fraud charge in St. Louis’ federal court.

In that case, Whitman was represented by Scott Rosenblum. Wednesday, Rosenblum confirmed to News 4 he had joined the legal team defending the Governor on the felony invasion of privacy charge. He said he did not recall the Whitman case.

For 10 years, it appears Whitman stayed out of federal court.

But in April of 2010, the same month Whitman wrote on LinkedIn that he started at The Greitens Group, he was indicted again. This time, two more counts of mail fraud. When arrested in November of 2010, he listed The Greitens Group as his place of employment.

In 2011, he was sentenced on those charges. In both cases, he received probation.

“They all involved money,” Muchnick said, of Whitman’s crimes.

As of 2012, however, he was still employed with The Greitens Group. Last week, New York Times reporter Ben Casselman tweeted a screenshot of an email he had received from Whitman in May of 2012, pumping one of Greitens’ books.

Court documents say Whitman embezzled from The Greitens Group from August of 2011 until June of 2014.

EMBEZZLEMENT CASE UNKNOWN TO THE PUBLIC

In August 17, 2016, Whitman was indicted on five federal charges, stemming from the time of his employment at The Greitens Group.

Fifteen days earlier, Greitens had clinched the Republican nomination for Governor.

Even though it was open to the public, the initial indictment paperwork listed the victim only as TGG. Muchnick says the US Attorney’s Office decided not to issue any kind of press release and the case got zero media attention.

“I considered it a fairly routine case,” Muchnick told News 4 Thursday. “Obviously the victim was well-known. I didn’t feel it was necessary to cause his name to be dragged into this.”

GOVERNOR GREITENS, VICTIM OF A CRIME

In March 2017, Whitman pleaded guilty to the charges. Now-Governor Greitens had a regular day at the Governor’s Mansion, according to his public calendar.

In August 2017, while Governor Greitens visited the Missouri State Fair, a judge sentenced Whitman to 15 months in federal prison. He is currently serving time in a Missouri prison facility.

Muchnick told News 4 that Whitman was sentenced under formal federal guidelines. He was not given any kind of deal and Muchnick says, as far as he knows, Whitman is not cooperating with any other investigation.

The judge in the case also ordered him to pay $48,472.01.

On court paperwork, it lists “Eric Greitens, LLC” as the entity that will receive the restitution. As for the address, it states: “The Governor’s Mansion 100 Madison Avenue, Jefferson City, Missouri.”

“We asked a representative of the Governor where the checks should be sent and they said the Governor’s Mansion,” Muchnick said.